Bell’s Greek Pizza

3 08 2008
  • 1135 E. Grand River Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 332-0858
  • Website
  • Menu
Bells Greek Pizza on E. Grand River near the campus of Michigan State

Bell's Greek Pizza on E. Grand River near the campus of Michigan State

Bell’s Greek Pizza is what I missed by going to a small private school instead of a state school.  When it got late, the only thing we had was vending machines.  There was no late night pizza place.  Whenever I visited friends at the University of Illinois or Southern Illinois University, I made sure to push for pizza at 3 am after the bars closed. 

I went looking for this place a while ago when my dad and a friend were in town, but I didn’t go far enough down Grand River to find it.  My girlfriend came home from work one Friday night and said she was hungry.  I suggested pizza so we drove across town to campus just for pizza.  I had a few people suggest Bell’s on this blog before so I was kind of looking forward to it. Read the rest of this entry »





Target – Edgewood Blvd

1 08 2008
  • 500 E. Edgewood Blvd.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-9084
  • Website
The Target store on Edgewood Boulevard in South Lansing

The Target store on Edgewood Boulevard in South Lansing

Target?!  A grocery store?!  I know, I thought the same thing, but recently, I find myself drifting over towards the grocery section everytime I end up in Target.  Like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, Target has taken on the role of a hyper-market with their Super Target stores.  However, none in the Lansing area fall into this category.  They’re all just Target stores.

The grocery section isn’t very big and takes up just a few aisles in the store.  Being small, they don’t have a wide variety.  They carry all the staples and they carry brand names, but they don’t often offer more than one brand of the same product.  In reality, you could do all of your grocery shopping at a Target store.  It may not be the most cost effective, but you don’t have to deal with the mile long aisles of Meijer or Wal-Mart.  Read the rest of this entry »





Mike’s Village Restaurant

30 07 2008
  • 115 N. Bridge St.
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-6804
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Mikes Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

Mike's Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

I’m not sure how I first heard about Mike’s.  I’m pretty sure I saw a recommendation posted a couple years ago on Chowhound.  When we were at the farmer’s market at the State Capitol last week, I heard a lady advertising the Dimondale Farmer’s Market.  When someone asked her where it was, she said, “Across from the restaurant.  You know, Mike’s.”  From that comment, it sounded like it’s one of those places that everyone in the area knows about. 

We made our weekly trip to Horrock’s and Wal-Mart.  Like most of the trips, it was around lunchtime.  Dimondale is sort of on the way home so we started heading that way.  I didn’t grab an address, but I told my girlfriend to put the city center of Dimondal in the GPS.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it would get us to the right place.  Once we turned on Bridge St., we actually found quite a few restaurants which was a little surprising for such a small town.

Mike’s Village Restaurant wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  What I was expecting was a fairly good size family restaurant.  What we found was a somewhat small family diner.  The green awning out front let us know we were in the right place.  Mike’s is probably a turn of the century store front.  The entry way is up a couple steps and has an old, heavy, wooden door that pushes in to open. I tried to pull and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t open.  Once I figured it out, I went in first and went to pass the weight of the door back to my girlfriend.  Instead, it closed in a hurry and almost smashed her.  Neither of us were expecting that and now I feel bad.  Read the rest of this entry »





The Vault Delicatessen

29 07 2008
  • 368 S. Jefferson St.
  • Mason, MI 48854
  • (517) 676-2696
  • Website
  • Menu
The Vault Delicatessen in downtown Mason across from the Ingham County Courthose

The Vault Delicatessen in downtown Mason across from the Ingham County Courthose

I don’t remember where I first heard about The Vault, but I always have a thing for old bank buildings turned into restaurants.  The Vault sits on the corner of Jefferson and Ash in downtown Mason just across from the Ingham County Courthouse.  My actual purpose for a trip to Mason was to go to Merindorf Meats (review HERE), but since I was going that way, I thought it was a good excuse to check out The Vault.

The Vault is much more than a place to pick up a sandwich for lunch.  Besides the deli case, they offer a wide variety of gourmet ingredients from Olive Oil to salts.  They also sell the La Brea bread they use to make their sandwiches.  Inside the old vault (the actual bank vault) is their wine room.  I’m not a huge wine person so nothing in there meant anything to me, but I did step in to check out.  When I turned to walk out, some stickers plastered along the frame caught my eye.  They were the lock cleaning stickers dating back to the early 1900’s. Read the rest of this entry »





Merindorf Meats & More – Mason

29 07 2008
  • 2289 W. Barnes Rd.
  • Mason, MI 48854
  • (517) 676-6039
  • Website
Merindorf Meats & More in Rural Mason

Merindorf Meats & More in Rural Mason

This is the store I keep hearing about.  We went looking for this shop one weekend, but somehow ended up at the store in Williamston (review HERE).  I needed some ground chicken for dinner tonight and since I have a hard time finding it at the mega marts anymore, I decided to hop in the truck and head to Mason. 

It’s a good thing we didn’t just “try to find it” last time.  Merindorf’s is located on Barnes Road which is outside of Mason about half a mile from US-127.  This building is much older looking than the Williamston shop.  The inside is a big difference too.  There’s not as much grocery, which is fine because when I go to Merindorf’s, I’m looking for meat.  Fresh meat wasn’t on my radar today.  I was in the market for some frozen stuff and Merindorf’s has it all.  Read the rest of this entry »





Comerica Park

27 07 2008
  • 2100 Woodward Ave.
  • Detroit, MI 48201
  • (313) 962-4000
  • Website
The view from our seats at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

The view from our seats at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

I don’t even know what to say.  WOW!  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with Comerica Park.  I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to Major League ballparks.  Comiskey Park, US Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, and Busch Stadium are the only ballparks I’ve been to.  Comerica makes The Cell look like that sh*thole where the Cubs play. 

When my girlfriend and I first moved to Lansing, one of the first thing we did was check the Tigers schedule to see when our White Sox were in town.  Luck has it, they were here the first weekend we were.  Since we were still working out moving expenses, going to Detroit our first weekend here probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.  A few weeks ago, I noticed the Sox were in town again.  I got on StubHub to see what I could get for tickets and picked up two right field bleacher seats.  Since I bought the tickets two weeks ago, we’ve both been jacked about going to the game.

We parked near Greektown and walked to the park.  We ended up between Comerica and Ford Field which was a good spot since our seats were in the outfield.  We handed over our tickets and walked in and immediately both of us were in awe.  What a beautiful park.  I snapped a few pictures from left field then we went to make a lap around and see what else CoPa had to offer. Read the rest of this entry »





Astoria Pastry Shop

27 07 2008
  • 541 Monroe St.
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 963-9603
  • Website
  • Menu
The Astoria Pastry Shop in Detroits Greektown Neighborhood

The Astoria Pastry Shop in Detroit's Greektown Neighborhood

The Astoria Pastry Shop was another recommendation from fellow blogger Genie28.  Being new to the area, we had no idea that Greektown was pretty much within walking distance from Comerica Park which was our final destination of the night.  We drove down Monroe Street looking for the shop.  After driving around the cramped streets for a few minutes, we realized how close we were to CoPa and ended up pulling into a lot and just parking for the night.  We headed back to Monroe Street to find the Astoria Pastry Company and couldn’t believe what we found.

The Astoria Pastry Company is located across the street from the Greektown Casion along a strip of road that is home to a lot of restaurants.  There was a steady line of people going in an out so we figured it must be one of those “must hit” places.  When you walk through the door, you’re immediately assaulted by a huge case of homemade pastry’s, cookies, and ice cream.  It was very overwhelming.  We didn’t know where to start.  Read the rest of this entry »





Red Coat Tavern

27 07 2008
  • 31542 Woodward Ave.
  • Royal Oak, MI 48073
  • (248 ) 549-0300
  • No Known Website
  • No Menu Online
The entrance to Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak near Detroit.

The entrance to Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak near Detroit.

I know.  I said I didn’t want to go into the suburbs for dinner and honestly, that wasn’t the plan.  We were going to take Corky and Amy’s advice and eat at Union Street Saloon.  We found the place across from the Detroit Medical Center and parked the car.  After dodging the homeless guy sleeping on the sidewalk, we got to the front door and found out they don’t open until 4:00.  It was only 3:00, so we didn’t want to stick around that neighborhood for very long and the only other place I could remember a name for was the Red Coat Tavern, so we put it in the GPS and headed back out of town.

After getting stuck in traffic on I-75, we got back to Woodward Ave. After a 10 minute or so drive downt the busy commercial street, we came up to the Red Coat.  Actually, I missed it the first time.  There is so much commercial along that stretch of Woodward the signs all block each other so by the time you get to the one you want, you’re right on top of it before you realize it.  I turned into the next parking lot which was connected to the Red Coat and backtracked to find a spot just under the huge awning leading to the front door. Read the rest of this entry »





Spotted Dog Cafe

24 07 2008
  • 221 S. Washington Sq.
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 485-7574
  • Website
  • Menu
The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington Sq. in Downtown Lansing

The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington Sq. in Downtown Lansing

As my girlfriend said, the Spotted Dog Cafe is more her kind of place than mine.  We made our way downtown to check out the Farmer’s Market at the State Capitol and decided to stay downtown for lunch.  We were parked on Michigan Ave. just past the roundabout so we left the car and went for a walk.  We’ve walked by Spotted Dog before, but usually on a Saturday when they’re not open.  I wasn’t in the mood for a burger or anything heavy and I figured a deli sandwich would be much better.

We walked in right about opening time so the place was pretty empty.  There were a couple people behind the counter.  The first asked what my girlfriend wanted.  She went with the summer salad which she said reminded her of the two years she spent in Idaho.  The mixed greens were topped with dried cherries, blueberries, shredded cheese, walnuts, and apples with a peppercorn dressing.  She it was refreshing and tasted like it came right out of the garden.  The large salad was more than enough for her. Read the rest of this entry »





L & L Food Center – Saginaw Hwy.

24 07 2008
  • 3800 W. Saginaw Hwy
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 321-4392
  • Website
L & L Food Center on West Saginaw Highway in Lansing.

L & L Food Center on West Saginaw Highway in Lansing.

When I visited the L & L Food Center in Holt a few weeks ago, the thing I noticed is that their meats are much cheaper than the other grocery stores.  After hitting the Farmer’s Market at the State Capitol, I needed to find some chicken to go with some of the things we bought.  We needed to go out near the Lansing Mall.  I rememered seeing an L & L on W. Saginaw, so that’s the one I hit up. 

The thing I noticed about this L & L is that it’s much brighter and much more inviting than the one in Holt.  The layout is pretty similar, but the aisle’s seemed much longer here.  Unlike the one in Holt, the frozen foods are at the end of the store instead of in the middle.  Read the rest of this entry »